Author, food educator and culinary curator Ozoz Sokoh has devoted her career to exploring the shared cultural links between foods within and outside Africa. It’s work that hasn’t gone unappreciated.
Her cookbook “Chop Chop: Cooking the food of Nigeria” won a prestigious James Beard “Emerging Voice in Books” award, a Nautilus Gold award and was named a New York Times Best Cookbook of 2025.
Showcasing recipes and stories from the country’s six regions, Nigeria-born Sokoh says she wanted the book to “create a foundational understanding of Nigerian cuisine and reflect to people all the ways we’re similar, in spite of perceived, and actual differences.”
Sokoh is interested not just in how food tastes, but its cultural and historical context. Oluwapelumi Bamidele/OviaReflex Photography
Sokoh says there’s a multitude of Nigerian dishes with links far beyond the country’s borders, from zobo — a hibiscus-based drink similar to sorrel in the Caribbean and agua de Jamaica in Mexico — to Imoyo, a light fish stew that is related to Portuguese molho, which means sauce, gravy or dressing, and has many forms.
The former geologist, who uses the online name Kitchen Butterfly, researches Nigerian, West African and Afro-diasporic food history, documenting her findings on FeastAfrique.com, where she curates and showcases map-based work showing culinary history and geographical connections.
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“The next level is for deeper explorations — Nigerian produce and products on shelves, in pantries, on TV [and] radio, not in ways that commodify it without context, but thoughtfully share its beauty and wealth,” says Sokoh.
Here, Sokoh selects dishes that showcase how Nigeria’s food heritage and culture connects to the wider world.
Imoyo
A fish stew related to Brazilian molho but spelled differently. There are various versions in both countries, featuring ingredients including tomatoes, onions, peppers and spices.
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Ewedu
A Nigerian soup made with jute leaves. These greens show up in North Africa and parts of southeast Asia. Ewedu is a component of the traditional Yoruba dish abula (made up of ewedu, obe ata — a spicy red stew — and gbegiri — a blended bean soup — and eaten with amala, a solid made from yam flour) which Sokoh says is a must-try for food explorers.
Abula sees ewedu incorporated with various other components. James Ransom
Small chops
This Nigerian party and event staple is made up of various snacks, like puff puff (deep-fried dough balls), fried chicken and blended, deep-fried ripe plantains presented on a small plate. Many countries have versions of this set of bites.
Chicken Curry
From Nigeria to Japan, Korea and the American south, there are versions of this dish shaped by “curry powder” — a spice mix with origins in South Asia.
Jollof Rice
A staple of seasoned red rice found across West Africa, with each country’s version shaped by trade, colonialism, taste preferences and other unique influences. Despite the tongue in cheek “Jollof Wars” across West Africa, where different countries claim to have the best tasting version, Sokoh says there’s much more to spotlight around this famous dish.
Nigeria is one of the central players in the the so-called “Jollof Wars.” James Ransom
Suya
A famous Nigerian street food of open flame-grilled skewered meat, seasoned with yaji, a spice blend made with peanuts, dried chili pepper and other aromatics and local spices — with variations like beef, chicken and ram mutton. There are several skewered meats around the world that are the signature of street food.
Chapman
This well-loved nonalcoholic Nigerian cocktail was reportedly created by a Nigerian hotelier. Made with angostura bitters, orange soda, lemon-lime soda and grenadine syrup and garnished with cucumber or orange and lemon slices, it has similar ingredients to drinks around the world like the Shirley Temple, the Roy Rogers, and Australian lemon-lime-bitters.
The chapman is Nigeria’s signature non-alcoholic cocktail. James Ransom
Zobo
A drink made from Hibiscus sabdariffa flowers, is of West African origin, and has variations around the world, including sorrel (another name for the sabdariffa plant) in the Caribbean, agua de Jamaica in Mexico, and hibiscus tea elsewhere.
Ozoz Sokoh’s cookbook is a celebration of Nigeria’s rich culinary diversity. James Ransom
Credit: CNN
